From Classic Car to Hot Rod in just 10 Years

“When I started to work at Federal-Mogul,” Gino interjects with a grin, “I suddenly found myself handling all these brands and parts which were familiar to me from spare parts fairs, both here and abroad. After my first jobs at Federal-Mogul in the Order Picking and Final Label departments, I ended up, in around 2005, in the Quality Control department where, together with four other colleagues, I am responsible for quality control."

Old school British car
Gino has had a passion for cars ever since he was a child. He used to look at the car magazine ‘Chroom & Vlammen’ [‘Chrome & Flames’] for hours and fantasize about the world of Custom Cars. By the time he was 19, he had already built his first show model: a tuned Mitsubishi Colt from the second generation, fully finished with velvet interior, a bar and purple neon lights under the car.
As a club member of the Van Custom Club Belgium he went to automobile conventions throughout Europe, from the Netherlands and Germany to Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries. “In Knebworth, England,” continues Gino, “is where I saw it standing: my four-door black-orange coloured Austin A40, with 11 mm-thick steel iron, a 1948 model in almost perfect condition. I drove it to Ramsgate that same day, put it on a ferry to Ostend, and, around midnight, parked it in my garage in Antwerp. I drove the Austin around for an entire year - it was even shown on Jeremy Clarkson’s BBC2 programme ‘Top Gear’ - until the back axle gave in during a ride and my right rear wheel overtook me at 100 kilometres per hour. Fortunately, I was able to reach the hard shoulder safely, without causing damage to passing cars.”

Pure Hot Rod style
“I then decided to completely strip my classic car down to the steel iron, and from 1998 to 2007 I was constantly busy with remodelling it into a unique Hot Rod – the only one of its kind in Belgium. For the welding I relied on my father and a friend who has also mounted a new cable harness. A professional car spraying shop carried out the paintwork in PPG purple mix. We had to fly all the way to Australia to find authentic Austin rubbers for the windows, but we were fortunate to find most of the automotive parts in good quality at home: Goetze^® sealants for the valve housing covers, Wagner (braking products leader in North America) brake fluid pumps, brake shoes and brake mounting clips, Payen^® sealing sets for the dazzling Rover V8 Cylinder, Ferodo^® (braking products leader in Europe, Middle East and Africa) brake hoses, brake pads and brake discs, MOOG^® ball hinges, AE pistons and Champion^® racing spark plugs.”

More than 10 car brands
“At the beginning of 2006, I started the car for the first time. It was flawless, but I came to the sombre conclusion that it would get through 16 litres of petrol in no time. For the connoisseurs amongst you with a critical eye, I will readily admit that the components that are used – both for the mechanics as well as for the interior and exterior finish – were taken from 10 different makes of car. The rear lights, for example, came from a 1939 Ford model and the headlights from a VW Beetle. Those with truly sharp eyes will recognise parts from a Ford Focus, Mondeo, Transit and Granada, a Lotus Cortina, Jaguar and Triumph. In order to give visual expression to the car’s English roots, I painted the petrol tank with a Union Jack motif.
Another gutsy detail: the aluminium V8 engine previously saw service under the bonnet of a British police car. It is incredibly powerful: I once raced a Quarter Mile in around 10 seconds. Those ‘times’ are now a thing of the past because nowadays I only drive around 5,000 gentle kilometres a year, touring in and around Antwerp in my Austin. Pure enjoyment!”